
| Elena R | ||||
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Depth: |
27m | Sunk: | November 1939 | |
| Type: | Greek steamship | Reason: | Mined | |
| Tonnage: | 4500 tonnes | Position: | 50 30'N 02 20' W | |
| Size: | 12m x 16m | Condition: | Broken | |
| The Elena R was on her way to Antwerp when she was mined. Salvaged, she sits on a gravel seabed, | ||||
| standing some seven metres high in places and almost buried in others. There's a lot of life on the | ||||
| wreck. | ||||
| Bennendijk | ||||
|
Depth: |
27m |
Sunk: | October 1939 | |
| Type: | Dutch steamship | Reason: | Mined | |
| Tonnage: | 6,873 tonnes | Position: | 50 32'N 02 20'W | |
| Size: | 121m x 16m | Condition: | Broken | |
| Known as the "Benny", the Bennendijk was mined while in the main | ||||
| shipping channel. Despite being very broken due to heavy clearance | ||||
| and salvage, she stands several metres in places. The seabed is | ||||
| coarse, however, the visibility is often low due to the wreck being near | ||||
| the Adamant Shoal and the Shambles bank. The upside to the | ||||
| Benny''s location is that she's often sheltered when every others, apart | ||||
| from those in the harbour, are blown out. | ||||
| British Inventor (bow section) | ||||
|
Depth: |
20m |
Sunk: | 13th June 1940 | |
| Type: | British oil tanker | Reason: | Mined | |
| Tonnage: | 7101 tonnes | Position: | 50 35' 52''N 02 18' 48''W | |
| Size: | 130m | Condition: | Broken | |
|
The steam powered British Inventor was carrying 10,568 tons of fuel |
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and diesel oil when she struck a mine. Originally sailing from Gibraltar |
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to Lands End, her destination was changed to Southampton, via |
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Portland. On the morning of the incident, the British Inventor was |
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approaching Portland when a patrol vessel told her to enter with the |
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mine sweepers. The tanker was told to wait at a position near Chiswick point but couldn't locate it on |
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| the chart. Shortly after, the Inventor was struck in number 3 or 4 tank on the port side near the bow. | ||||
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An attempt to beach the ship was started but, on realizing she had broken her back, it was aborted. |
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The crew left the ship and boarded the patrol vessel. Two tugs came out to tow the ship to port. After |
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two hours of this the British Inventor suddenly the bows sunk leaving the stern on the surface and the |
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prop out of the water. |
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During the the next few weeks the stern section of the ship was |
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| salvaged and sold as scrap. One of the bow sections now lies on the | ||||
| Lulworth banks, well broken and scattered, only ribs and plates are left. | ||||
| Its highest point is only a couple of metres off the rocky seabed. | ||||
| There's a lot of marine life here. | ||||
| Blackwood (possibly) | ||||
|
Depth: |
53m - 70m |
Sunk: | June 1944 | |
| Type: | Frigate | Reason: | Torpedoed | |
| Tonnage: | 1,150 tonnes | Position: | ||
| Size: | Condition: | |||
| This wreck is possibly that of the Blackwood. She is lying in one of the | ||||
| deep holes where the seabed is around seventy metres. The top of the | ||||
| wreck is at fifty three metres. | ||||
| P555 | ||||
|
Depth: |
40m |
Sunk: | August 1947 | |
| Type: | Ex American sub | Reason: | sonar target | |
| Tonnage: | 1062 tonnes | Position: | 50 30'N 02 33'W | |
| Size: | 66m x 6m | Condition: | Intact - upright | |
| The P555 lies completely intact on a shingle and gravel seabed. Sitting | ||||
| upright, her wooden deck is at 33 metres. She lies along the tide, | ||||
| sitting East to West. | ||||
| Frognor | ||||
|
Depth: |
34m |
Sunk: | May 1918 | |
| Type: | Norwegian steam | Reason: | Torpedoed | |
| Tonnage: | 1,476 tonnes | Position: | 50 31'N 02 33'W | |
| Size: | 78m x 11m x 6m | Condition: | ||
| The Frognor has been salvaged and stands seven metres off the | ||||
| seabed. | ||||
| UB74 | ||||
|
Depth: |
34m | Sunk: | May 1918 | |
| Type: | German sub | Reason: | depth charges | |
| Tonnage: | 660 tonnes | Position: | 50 32'N 02 33' W | |
| Size: | 55m x 6m | Condition: | Broken | |
| The German U boat, UB74, was laid to rest by depth charges dropped | ||||
| from the Lorna, an armed yacht. She has been heavily salvaged. | ||||
| Lulworth Banks (drift dive) | ||||
| Lulworth Banks has an extremely varied seabed with depths from 12 to | ||||
| 25 metres Marine life is in abundance with lots of scallops on the | ||||
| sandy areas. The wreck of the British Inventor lies here. | ||||
| Alex Van Opstel | ||||
|
Depth: |
30m |
Sunk: | September 1939 | |
| Type: | Belgian liner | Reason: | Mine | |
| Tonnage: | 5,965 tonnes | Position: | 50:09:21N 02:03:17 W | |
| Size: | 127m x 17m | Condition: | Very broken | |
| The Alex Van Opstel was en route from New York to Antwerp when | ||||
| she was hit by a mine. Her bow is still recognisable and stands 7 | ||||
| metres above the seabed. Salvage work has reduced the stern to a | ||||
| tangledweb of wreckage. She lies SW / NE on a seabed of sand and | ||||
| gravel. | ||||
| Ethel | ||||
|
Depth: |
38m |
Sunk: | ||
| Type: | steamship | Reason: | ||
| Tonnage: | 2,000 tonnes | Position: | 2 miles off shambles | |
| Size: | Condition: | Broken | ||
| The Ethel stands six 6 metres off the seabed. | ||||
| Black Hawk (stern section) | ||||
|
Depth: |
36m - 48m |
Sunk: | 29th Dec 1944 | |
| Type: | Armed steam | Reason: | Torpedoed | |
| Tonnage: | Position: | 50 22'N 02 25'W | ||
| Size: | 134 x 17 x 10m | Condition: | ||
|
On the 28th December, 1944, the American Liberty Ship Black Hawk was sailing in convoy from |
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| Cherbourg, bound for Fowey in Cornwall. On the way, the convoy was to stop off at St. Helens Roads | ||||
| on the Isle of Wight, where the convoy would be joined by more vessels. | ||||
| The convoy was roughly four and a half miles South of Portland Bill when they were spotted by the | ||||
| German submarine, U772. The Black hawk was the second ship in the convoy to receive a torpedo hit. | ||||
| It struck the stern, breaking it right off. | ||||
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It was decided that the Black Hawk was to be towed to Worbarrow bay to be beached. The wreck |
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remained here until after the war when the Royal Navy decided to blow her as she was a navigational |
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hazard. She was blown again in the 1960's to make way for a pipeline. |
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| Today, the stern section lies on her starboard side on a gravel, shingle and sand seabed, the prop | ||||
| missing. | ||||
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| Kingston Cairngorm | ||||
|
Depth: |
50m |
Sunk: | 18th October 1940 | |
| Type: | Naval steam trawler | Reason: | Mined | |
| Tonnage: | 448 tonnes | Position: | ||
| Size: | Condition: | Well blown | ||
| Although thought to be the Kingston Cairngorm, the wreck is much | ||||
| larger than a 450 ton steam trawler. The wreck is well blown amidships | ||||
| and the bows lie to the East. | ||||
| Amy | ||||
|
Depth: |
50m |
Sunk: | 1928 | |
| Type: | small sailing ship | Reason: | ||
| Tonnage: | Position: | |||
| Size: | Condition: | |||
| The Amy had no engine and sunk whilst making a film. | ||||
| UB62 | ||||
|
Depth: |
50+m |
Sunk: | October 1917 | |
| Type: | German Sub | Reason: | M | |
| Tonnage: | tonnes | Position: | ||
| Size: | m x m | Condition: | B | |
| This German submarine lies North to South, with a hole in port side | ||||
| and a list to starboard. | ||||
| Sidon | ||||
|
Depth: |
34m |
Sunk: | 1955 | |
| Type: | British S class sub | Reason: | ||
| Tonnage: | 900 tonnes | Position: | 50 32'N 02 42'W | |
| Size: | 66m x 7m x 4m | Condition: | Broken | |
|
The Sidon, an S Class submarine, suffered an unfortunate career |
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sinking twice. The first time was during 1955 when she sunk in |
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Portland harbour losing the lives of 13 men. Following this incident, she |
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| was raised and towed out to her present position and deliberately sunk | ||||
| as an ASDIC target. | ||||
|
The Sidon now lies NW / SE and although broken, is still recognisable |
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| as a submarine. | ||||
| HMS Bittern | ||||
|
Depth: |
33m |
Sunk: | 4th April 1918 | |
| Type: | Gun boat | Reason: | Collision | |
| Tonnage: | Position: | |||
| Size: | 60 x 7m | Condition: | Broken | |
| The Bittern was believed to be a C Class torpedo gun boat. She was | ||||
| lost in 1918 after a collision with the SS Kenilworth. She was capable | ||||
| of 30 knots, was coal fired and had two torpedo tubes on deck. HMS | ||||
| Bittern is sometimes mistaken for the submarine tender Hazard, which | ||||
| sunk off Portsmouth in the same year. | ||||
| The Bittern now lies broken with her bows listing starboard and her | ||||
| stern upright. She lies NW / SE and stands 6 metres from the seabed. | ||||
| Scaldis | ||||
|
Depth: |
33m |
Sunk: | January 1974 | |
| Type: | Trawler | Reason: | ||
| Tonnage: | Position: | 50 34'N 02 38'W | ||
| Size: | 24m | Condition: | Upright | |
| The Scaldis was last heard of in 1974. She lost all her crew. In 1975 | ||||
| she was located in her present position. She sits upright on the | ||||
| seabed with her fishing gear out. | ||||
| Black Hawk (bow section) | ||||
|
Depth: |
18m |
Sunk: | 29th DEC 1944 | |
| Type: | Armed USA steam | Reason: | Torpedoed | |
| Tonnage: | Position: | 50 36N 02 12W | ||
| Size: | 134m x 17m x 10m | Condition: | Broken | |
|
The Black Hawk was torpedoed by a German U boat. The stern was blown away in the attack and the |
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remains were towed into Worbarrow and beached. Large pieces of machinery are still present on the |
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wreck. From the main wreckage, there are some big chains leading East North East for 200 metres to |
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a second part of the wreck. In 1969, the wreck was blown with explosives to make way for the Winfrith |
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pipeline. |
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| Now lying in about 18 metres, she stands 3 metres from a seabed of rock and shingle. The area is tidal | ||||
| see tide page to determine when you want to dive. | ||||
| Aeolian Sky | ||||
|
Depth: |
21m - 30m | Sunk: | 4th Nov 1979 | |
| Type: | Greek freighter | Reason: | Collision | |
| Tonnage: | 14,385 tonnes | Position: | 50 30 '86''N 02 08' 36''W | |
| Size: | 138m | Condition: | Good - intact | |
| On her way from Hull and Rotterdam, | ||||
| the Aeolian Sky was twenty miles | ||||
| north of Guernsey and in a south | ||||
| westerly gale. At 4:30 am she | ||||
| collided with the 2,400 ton Anna | ||||
| Knuepell, a German coaster | ||||
| returning to her home port of | ||||
| Hamburg. The Aeolian Sky's hull was | ||||
| badly damaged resulting in number | ||||
| one hold taking on water. | ||||
| The Sky sent a distress signal which was picked up by the Abeille | ||||
|
Langudoc,
a French ocean going tug based in Cherbourg.
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| The tug managed to get a line to the sky and the Anna Knuepell, only | ||||
| slightly damaged in collision, stood by along with the Riverina, a bulk | ||||
| carrier, who had also answered the Sky's call. Fortunately, no one was | ||||
| hurt in the incident but by now the Sky's bows were sinking and the | ||||
| wind & tide pushing the vessel North East, towards mid channel, | ||||
| At 9:30 am, a RN helicopter from Lee-on-Solent evacuated | ||||
| most of the crew but then had to return to base with engine | ||||
| trouble, leaving a handful of crew still on board the sinking | ||||
| vessel. By now her bows were just above sea level. She had | ||||
| drifted so far that the French tug had to abort the original plan | ||||
| to tow her to Cherbourg and head for the Solent instead. | ||||
| At 3:15 pm, the Port Authorities of Southampton and Portsmouth | ||||
| declined the Aeolian Sky permission to enter. They feared the | ||||
| possibility of the stricken vessel sinking in the shipping lanes and | ||||
| bringing the ports to a standstill. | ||||
| The tug now turned into the wind and set course for Portland Harbour. | ||||
| On November 4th, however at 3:45 in the morning her holds finally took | ||||
| on too much water and the Aeolian Sky sank. | ||||
| She was carrying an assorted cargo including two diesel electric locomotives and thousands of jars of | ||||
| Marmite. Several days later it became apparent that the ship also had four million pounds worth of new | ||||
| bank notes onboard, destined for the Seychelles government. The first accounted divers on the wreck | ||||
| came up empty handed fuelling stories of outlaw divers getting there first. The notes were cancelled | ||||
| rendering them worthless. | ||||
|
A very popular wreck during the summer season, the Aeolian Sky lies |
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| on her port side on a limestone seabed. She stands 12 metres high | ||||
| with her bow South and her stern North. On a flat calm day it's | ||||
| possible to see where the she is by the effect the tide has on the | ||||
| surface as it moves over the wreck. Slack water in this area is often | ||||
| not at the predicted time so it's worth arriving early. | ||||
| A3 | ||||
|
Depth: |
38m |
Sunk: | 2nd Feb 1912 | |
| Type: | British submarine | Reason: | Collision | |
| Tonnage: | 190 tonnes | Position: | 50 31'41''N 02 11'25''W | |
| Size: | 32m x 4m x 3m | Condition: | Upright, complete | |
|
Almost nine years after her launch, the A3 was one of several A & C |
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Class submarines that left Portsmouth harbour HMS Hazard. They |
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were heading for the Isle of Wight on exercises. At the time, the A3 |
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was in command of Lieutenant Ormand, normally the A4's Commander. |
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| At the start of the exercise, the A3 was on HMS Hazards starboard bow and dived in the usual way. | ||||
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Ten minutes later the Hazard was struck at the stern. Within a minute a mass of air bubbles surfaced, |
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identifying the A3's position. The position was marked and a salvaged vessel requested. |
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| By the time the salvage divers arrived, the wind had picked up to a point preventing any salvage taking | ||||
| place. On 8th March, five weeks later when conditions allowed the A3 to be raised a few metres off the | ||||
| seabed. She was then towed to Portsmouth,via St Helens Roads near Ryde, where divers made the | ||||
| fixings more permanent. | ||||
| Once in Portsmouth, the A3 was pumped out and the bodies of the fourteen crew taken to Hasler | ||||
| Hospital. The A3 had a two metre split in her hull. The crew would have drowned immediately. On the | ||||
| 17th May, 1912, the A3 was towed for some experiments and then sunk by the guns of the | ||||
| dreadnought St. Vincent. | ||||
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| Start | ||||
|
Depth: |
36m - 40m |
Sunk: | 22nd DEC 1917 | |
| Type: | Norwegian steamer | Reason: | Torpedoed | |
| Tonnage: | 728 tonnes | Position: | 50 28' 26''N 01 49' 59''W | |
| Size: | 62m x 9m x 3.5m | Condition: | Broken | |
|
The Start was taking a cargo of coal from Swansea, South Wales, to |
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| Rouen in France when she was attacked by the German submarine | ||||
| UB57. From a crew of fourteen there were only two survivors. | ||||
| Today, the Start rests on a shingle seabed standing four metres. Well | ||||
| broken and salvaged, her stern lies on its port side, the prop & rudder | ||||
| clearly visible. The bow is upright but the plates have rusted away | ||||
| leaving only the stern post. Visibility is often good, particularly HW on a | ||||
| neap tide. | ||||
| Warrior (II) | ||||
|
Depth: |
54m |
Sunk: | January or 11th July 1940 | |
| Type: | Requisitioned yacht | Reason: | German aircraft | |
| Tonnage: | 1,124 tonnes | Position: | 50:21:56N 02:12:23W | |
| Size: | 86m x 10m x | Condition: | Broken | |
|
The Warrior was first launched in 1904 and an extremely luxurious |
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| yacht. She went through several different names as she changed | ||||
| owners Her last owners renamed her Warrior. At the out break of the | ||||
| Second World War the Royal Navy requisitioned the yacht and named | ||||
| her Warrior II, as they already had a ship called Warrior. | ||||
| Fitted with just a single gun, the Warrior II was attacked by over fifty | ||||
| German aircraft. She received a bomb to her decks, smashing through | ||||
| the ship and blowing a hole through her side. She sits up to five metres | ||||
| in places. The swimming pool is recognisable. | ||||